Angel Season 4 Episode 14

RELEASE



The Good;

The Wes and Faith hurt/comfort scenes are excellent. The hunting of Angelus is magnificent.



The Bad;

Wes' shotgun seems to contain an inordinate amount of shells?



Best line:

Lorne "Mojo?"

Fred "Nojo"

also like;

Vamp (as the daylight returns); "What the f...?"



Jeez, how did they get away with that?

Hard to watch Faith all banged up and self harming in Wes' shower, you'd think Eliza naked in a shower would normally be cause for celebration but not this time. A magic shop owner badly beaten but at least alive, if this was Sunnydale he'd be a goner.



Apocalypses: 5



Angel Cliches

In disguise; 8



DB get's his shirt off; 12



Cheap Angel; 6



Fang Gang in bondage:

Cordy: 5

Angel: 13

Wes: 6

Gunn; 4

Lorne; 4

Fred; 2



Fang gang knocked out: Poor old Lorne and Connor knocked out, the latter assuming the classic Jesus pose.

Cordy: 15

Angel: 16

Wes: 5

Doyle; 1

Gunn; 1

Lorne; 5

Groo; 1

Connor; 1



Kills; one vamp for Wes

Cordy: 5 vamps, 3 demons

Angel; 41 vamps, 57 and 1/2 demons, 5 zombies, 8 humans

Doyle; 1 vamp

Wes; 12 demons+4 vamps, 5 zombies, 2 humans

Kate; 3 vamps

Faith; 18 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.

Gunn; 11 vamps+ 13 demons, 5 zombies, 1 human.

Groo; 1 demon

Fred; 3 vamp+ 1 demon, 5 zombies

Connor; 13 vamps, 5 zombies, 2 demons



Fang Gang go evil:

Cordy: 3

Angel: 3

Gunn; 1

Wes; 1



Alternate Fang Gang:

Cordy: 4

Angel: 10

Fred; 2

Wes; 1

Gunn; 1



Characters killed:

255



Recurring characters killed;

9;



Total number of Angel Investigations:

Angel, Gunn, Fred, Lorne, Wes, CC, Connor, Faith



Angel Investigations shot:

Angel: 12

Wes; 1

Wes; 7

Doyle; 1

Angel; 3

Gunn; 2



Packing heat; Wes breaks out his shotgun

Wes; 8

Doyle; 1

Angel; 3

Gunn; 1



Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: Fred wants Gunn back but he turns her down. Connor is at least part demon meaning 4 out of CC's 5 lovers have been some form of supernatural creatures.

Cordy: 5 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis+Groo+Connor

Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies

Wes; 3; Virginia, the bleached blonde and Lilah

Gunn; 1 Fred

Fred; 1 Gunn

Groo; 1Cordy



Kinky dinky:

Faith actually has the most unerotic shower scene for a beautiful woman in the history of TV. Apparently CC and Angelus both 'like to watch'. The demon declares he thought 'she was 18'. Faith refers to being 'spanked'. Angelus says 'That hurt. I liked it'. Wes refers to Sylvia Plath who wrote about the 'Electra complex' referring to Agamenon's relationship with his daughter in Greek mythology but also a term for girls' quest for a father figure throughout their lives (Buffy/Giles, Faith/Giles, Faith/The Mayor and finally here's Faith/Wes as the Watcher's Council always intended).

Faith; "Screw you!"

Angelus; "Maybe after! I like my girls to lie still"

CC knocked up AGAIN! 3rd time in 5 years. Does she ever meet a demon she doesn't get impregnated by? Taboo Comics anyone?



Captain Subtext;

Angelus is told he's going to be the master's 'bitch' like the Beast. And so he is. "Master". The junkie in the vamp brothel thinks Faith is pretty and asks if she wants to make out? She seems tempted (maybe missing the communal soapings in the prison showers?). Wes says that the girl probably enjoyed Faith hitting her and says that Faith is still looking for some S&M punishment. Angelus refers to Wes as a 'ponce'.



Know the face, different character; 4



Parking garages;

6,



Guantanamo Bay;

Faith and Wes torture their way through LA, he's so hardcore even she's outraged.



Buffy characters on Angel; 16

Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony



What the fanficcers thought;

So what if Angelus had really turned Faith? A lot written on this idea but a sequal to them all has Faith's Slayer nature taking over and getting them both resouled.



Questions and observations;

Fred's good with a tranquilizer gun but then she is from Texas. Her hair rather makes her look like Princess Leia. The one horned demon in the bar sounds an awful lot like Merle. How much of losing the fight is Faith faking? Faith is bitten by Angelus, Xander, Tara, Wes and Oz, the only Sunnydale Scoobies never to be bitten by a vampire.



Marks out of 10; 10/10 no question.

Release was a really great episode of Angel. I really enjoyed watching this episode because it took us further into the main story line of the season and sets up the following epiosdes with a big cliff hanger. I thought the characters all played their parts well and the events were exciting to watch. Cordelia has begun to really show another side which is corrupting Conner into doing anything for her. I thought Angelus was very entertaining, especially when he was hearing the Beast's Master in his mind. The end of the episode was action packed with a surprise ending. I can't wait to watch the next episode!!!!!

Release is another excellent episode following in a loooong line of excellent episodes- S4 is pretty much outstanding until episode 18 where it falls flat, but at this episode it's still in it's prime and has lots and lots of Faith. Now that The Beast has gone bye bye, the focus is switched to Angelus, whom is an even better villain the The Beast IMO. I love his one liners and his sense of humour and think bringing him in for S4 was an excellent idea. It was great to see Faith's dilemma here- she can't kill Angelus as Angel is the only person to never give up on her but he's running around causing mayhem and the like so she's a bit stuck. She also seems to value human life a lot more now, shown by her unwillingness to sacrifice Wesley. I can't decide if I prefer Reformed Faith or Bad Girl Faith- both are incredible and my love for Faith has grown a lot lately! I love her fight sequence at the end and think it's one of the best of the show- a Faith vs. Angelus throwdown was just what we needed in a bit of a talk-y episode.





I really enjoyed Cordevila speaking in Angel's mind. The fake voice may have been incredibly cheesy but it worked as a whole. I have to say Jazzy in Cordy is a fantastic villain who's manipulations are mind blowing. If only she had remained as cool when she came out of Cordy and was played by Gina Torres. I just love watching her manipulate everyone so easily and carefully- she's awesome!





The scene with Faith and Wes in the junkie backrooms was interesting, although slightly disturbing. Wesley just came over too mean here- stabbing that girl just to get info? It felt a bit out of character. I did like his speech to Faith after and felt it was cruel but necessary. Wesley has a good understanding of Faith and his insults were not without reason. The Gunn and Fred scenes felt tired- even though I prefer Gunn/Fred to Wesley/Fred, their relationship was over at this point and the kiss they shared was pointless- nothing ever becomes of it. It's a bit repitive. I love the end and on first watch I was like "NOOOO DON'T KILL FAITH" but thankfully she sticks around for another episode and 5 more on Buffy. It was a shocker alright. Great episode!

Release-With the Beast out of the way, and sunlight returned to L.A., Wesley and Faith prepare for a final confrontation with Angelus.





A superb follow-up in this brilliant trilogy of episodes. The opening teaser with Faith in the shower is a disturbing yet powerful scene as she feels so beat up about losing. The best parts continue to be Wesley and Faith as they're interaction gets better with each episode. Wesley is prepared to lose himself in the darkness to stop Angelus but Faith isn't. It's very shocking scene as Faith interogates a young woman then Wesley stabs her and is relentless for information. Then Wesley reminds Faith of how she tortured him and how much of reject she is, to which Faith reacts. Alexis's performance was just so amazing in the episode like ALL of his performances this season! Also, the scene with Angelus in the hotel with Fred was great how he tried to out smart her then she shots a dart gun and his Lorne by mistake. Connor is pretty much a useless lapdog this whole hour while Cordelia makes a big scary voice at Angelus, to which he responds:





Angel: "Hey, I have a big scary voice too, kiss my vampire a$$!"





LOL!





The big showdown at the end between Faith and Angelus is another highlight fight of this season. The setting is perfect and the choreography is sharp! It seems that Faith will win in the end, but suddenly Angelus catches her off guard and starts feeding on her! All and All, another amazing episode of this season with great character developments, scenes and fight.

It's not as awesome as the previous or the next episode but it's good nonetheless. After the big battle with the Beast, Faith and Wes return to his apartment. I guess they didn't return to the Hyperion because seeing Faith look like a giant bruise wouldn't really be good for morale. Buffy fights and uber-vamp and gets the crap beat out of her and what is her response? She sits alone wide-eyed looking frightened out of her wits. Faith, on the other hand, fights the huge Beast made of solid rock and what is her response? "No trauma. I'm good" then showers. Awesome. It's really hard to make a shower scene tastefully but the guys at Angel really pulled it off. Though, I don't know why they had ED stand behind the shower instead of under it. It didn't look like she was under it at all, if that's what they were going for. It was odd. Angelus regales the lackeys about his bout with the Beast (Hee! Bunny ) and is interrupted by Cordevil's big boomin' voice. Nice trick. Angelus: Where are you? Master's Voice: I'm where it's warm and soft. The gang's all in the Hyperion and they arm themselves with tranqs. Connor walks in and he's acting really suspicious. Not I'm-still-shacking-it-up-with-the-woman-who-changed-my-diapers suspicious but more like I'm-hiding-a-big-evil-secret suspicious. The gang, however, don't pick up on it. Weird. Fred's doing her thing but then is interrupted by Angelus who shows her his mojo (Eew, not like that). He takes all their intel but not before dodging a few tranq darts. Man, Fred's a suck shot… and only three darts really? Come one Gunn you gotta give your girl more than that… I guess it was a bitter breakup. Heh. Connor sees Angelus and goes in for the hit but is knocked the heck out by the sanctuary spell. Angelus, as well as all of us, says "Well, isn't that interesting." So Connor is a demon? I wish they would have elaborated more on that. Angelus is confronted by Wes and Faith She should have taken the shot (Hee! The boy hostage ) I guess Wes has grown on Faith… he's kinda grown on me too this season… kinda. Back to the lobby. The gang is regrouping and Wesley goes for his shotgun. I don't care what anyone says, guns make you look cooler. Heh! Angelus tries to decipher whatever it is that he stole from Fred but he is interrupted by Cordevil She manages to make him her lapdog by just showing him the Jar o' soul. Cool. Gunn and Fred are in the lobby and apparently Fred decides that she now has feelings for Gunn. Make up your mind! Fortunately Gunn ain't having that anymore 'cause he straight out disses her. Aww. Ha! Faith and Wes are hot on Angelus' trail. They walk into the druggie room and Faith (as well as me) is weirded out. She interrogates a girl and tries to channel Faith BtVS S3 but I guess prison has made her soft, which is definitely not a bad thing. Wes however freaks the hell out of Faith and me as well by his interrogation techniques. Heh. I guess Alexis Denisof doesn't know how to do an English accent while yelling. I really liked this dialogue: Faith: So, what? Torturing humans part of the new makeover? Wesley:I did what I had to do because you couldn't. Faith: I hit her. Wesley:You think that's something new to her? Faith: You crossed it back there, Wes. What you did back there- Wesley:Oh, you have a problem with torture now? I seem to recall a time when you rather enjoyed it. Faith: Yeah, well, it's not me anymore. You know that. Wesley: (leans the shotgun forward) Nice to have this along, just in case. I remember what you did to me, Faith. The broken glass, the shallow cuts so I would remain conscious. Faith:You think I'd hurt you again? Wesley:This the part where you tell me you've turned a new leaf, found God, inner peace? We both know that isn't true. You haven't changed. You can't. Faith:Wes... Wesley:Because you're sick. You've always been sick. It goes right down to the roots rotting your soul. That's why your friends turned on you in Sunnydale, why the Watchers' Council tried to kill you. No one trusts you, Faith. You're a rabid dog who should've been put down years ago! (Faith pushes Wesley violently against the chain link fence, taking the gun from him and raising it back to hit him with it, but stops short) See, that wasn't so hard, was it? It's what you'll need to beat him. Faith: (puts the gun down, steps back) No. I ♥ Continuity. Faith and Wes are able to find Angelus. Wes does what he's best at and gets knocked out immediately not before Angelus swipes his shotgun. Ponce indeed. He manages to corner Faith with the shotgun thankfully killing her that way isn't his "style". They fight, which is really cool, and Angelus tries to get Faith with his mind games. But Faith ain't having none of that. She breaks out the knives which is awesome. I love Faith and her knives. They fight some more, and Angelus taunts Wes. He sure has been out long. Angelus disappears and begins to taunt Faith out of sight. Lame. More mind games but Faith, as well as I, is tired of it and she really lets loose on Angelus. She really beats the hell out of him and it looks like he's down for the count. But he manages to get her and sink his teeth into her. Will he drain her? Is he gonna sire her!? What's gonna happen!!!?

Cordelia, or I guess to be more accurate the evil thing controlling Cordelia, makes contact with Angelus in the form of a big scary voices. It shouts in his head, taunts him with his soul, and even manages to make Angelus it's...I'll say slave just as Fred said it would. There's gotta be some real power there if it can control a wild card like Angelus. This episode has fantastic dialogue all around.





Wesley pushes Faith to become the viscious monster she once was, insisting that it's what she needs to beat Angelus. And he's right, it is what she needs. Angelus will be willing to take it all the way, Faith needs to be willing to do the same. And their final showdown is pretty brilliant. Faith doses Angelus with the poison they find in one of the demon bars they tracked him to, knocking him unconscious after their brawl. And I'll say it again this episode is really well written, everyone has such great dialogue.

Wes gets his broken slayer back to his apartment to tend to her wounds, but Faith shrugs him off and asks for the shower. She is bleeding as she stands there, but Wes complies and lets her go shower. Faith stands in the shower getting angrier by the second, she pummels Wesleys shower and gets a very resolved look on her face as the water washes over her. She isnt so easily undone. She gets ready and tells Wes its time to go. He wants to make sure she is ok, and she tells him Five by Five and they are off. Meanwhile, Angelus is celebrating his "win" in a local dive when a sudden, booming voice enters his mind. He retreats to the backroom of the bar and starts really getting smart with the BeastMaster (Cordy) and then the voice disappears. This is because Cor is interrupted by Connor coming to check on her. He assures her no one will ever hurt her o their baby (this sounds SOOO wrong from this kid) Cordy tells him that soon everyone will know what is growing inside her (this is even MORE wrong!)


Angelus strolls into the hotel and takes everything they had on the beast by scaring Fred into thinking he has a charm that makes him immune to the sanctorium spell. She figures out a bit too late that it is fake and Angelus gets away to go do some studying. He meets Wes abd Faith outside and they try to fight him but he grabs Wesleys neck and Faith wont take the shot. Gunn throws her a weapon but Angelus is too quick. Wes is angry that Faith didnt take the shot. He tells her the only way to defeat him is to be just like him, but Faith wont do that.





Soon enough Faith and Wes track down the bar where Angelus was last seen. They find a stoned girl in the back and Faith slams her against the wall trying to get info but she balks. Wes, who is past being patient, stabs the girl in the shoulder and gets her to talk. Faith is dumbfouded. They get their info. Wes pulls Faith aside and makes her mad, which is what he wants because she needs that anger to fight and win. She is ready to fight, but she wont kill Angelus because Angel never gave up on her. They go back to the hotel where Lorne is finally waking up from being tranked by Angel. He knows where Angel is so Wes and Fred take off. They find him and soon Faith and Angel are fighting, he accuses her of being just like him and she says she isnt. He tells her She will be and then sinks his teeth into her. Nooooooooo!

Wesely and Angelus, both in their own way and for their own reasons, try to get Faith to unleash the inner bad girl. The Good: What an ending! Definitely breaks the mold of the usual psychological fight where the good guy wins after being continuously berated. The Bad: Much my review of the last episode ... Angelus. Not very scary, just really annoying and a blabbermouth. The Ugly: This episode DEFINES filler episode. If you take where the story is at the beginning of the episode and compare it to where it is at the end of the episode, there's really no change at all. This episode is a whole lotta talking, and even the fight scene at the end is so peppered with more talking that it doesn't really salvage anything.

a let down from the past episodes and that is only because it didn't have the same energy and magic.





but it was still a very good episode. faith in the shower and fighting against angelus and her scenes with wesley were all very good but a big part of the episode didn't feel as natural and i do not know why,





i did notdig evil cordelia as i loved her how she used to be but i did not hate cordelia either, but this episode does not make her very loved either and her being the master is not the best move. but the episode was still brilliant anyway.

Release





The dialog was much better than Salvage but it seemed to take a bit too long. The best were the Wes/Faith scenes and ofcourse the Faith in the shower scene. It was a great and powerful episode where Angelus ends up as Cordy's b*tch and bites Faith.





Cut to Wesley's apartment and Faith is bleeding and she doesn't want any drama and only wants a shower and goes to the bathroom and takes off her clothes and showers and then she suddenly goes nuts and brakes the walls with her hands and feels good again. Cut to a bar and Angelus is having fun and one says that Angelus shouldn't have bring back the sun and Angelus goes to kill him but suddenly someone talks to him.





the credits start(Andy Hallett is added to the credits)


David Boreanaz


Charisma Carpenter


J. Aughust Richards


Amy Acker


Vincent Kartheiser


Andy Hallett


and Alexis Denisof





Angelus thinks is weird and he doesn't see who talks to him and nobody knows to he is talking about and he goes in a place and the voice is Cordelia's only with another sound and she is in her room. Angelus is disrespecting her and then Connor comes in Cordy's room so she acts normal and says she's woozy. Cut to Angelus who doesn't hear the voice anymore. Cut to Cordy and Connor and she says she cannot believe Angelus killed The Beast. Connor says he will never let anymore kill her and the baby and she doesn't want anyone to know and it's because the rest wouldn't understand cause the baby is growing fast and the fear might them want to kill the baby and she says it won't be to long before they know what's growing inside her.





Cut to the hotel and they are arming and Connor comes down and they asks about Cordy but he says that she doesn't want to see anyone and walks away. Fred says that Connor should be helping Faith cause she is probably not up to it alone. Cut to Wes and Faith and she is sorry about the bathroom but he wants to know if she is in the game and she says she is five by five but he doesn't buy it. Cut to Fred and Angelus find her and she says he can't hurt her but he says he has something to be able to hurt her and she says she doesn't believe it but he attacks her and wants to know everything about The Beast master. Fred sees his thing isn’t real and she hits him and he escapes with everything and when he tries to escape Connor attacks him but he can't hit him and falls of the balcony and Angelus says that's interesting and he leaves.





Angelus goes outside where Faith and Wes are and he grabs Wes and she tells him to let Wes go but he will snap his neck and he tells her to attack him even if it costs it his life but she cannot do it but then Gunn comes and he throws Wes onto Gunn and escapes. Cut to Connor going to Cordy and he tells her that Angelus was there and it makes her upset and he tells her that he took everything about The Beast master and he is lucky nobody got hurt. Cut to Fred and Gunn and she thinks it's her fault and Fred wants to make up but Wes grabs a big gun and he tells Fred to look out. Wes and Faith go out and Wes says that she should have attacked even if he would have died and he says that the only way to defeat him is to be just as vicious as he is. Cut to Angelus going through some pages and he can't find it and he has some professor and he can't help Angelus and then he hears something in his head and it was Cordevila and it tells him not to do something anymore and the professor escapes. It tells that Angelus is trapped into Angel and he can't act on his desires and she shows him the soul and Angelus tries to grab it and it tells him that it has it in his hands and it will restore him and berry him so deep that he won't be able to claw out again and he then calls Cordy his master.





Cut to the hotel and Fred tells him not to turn away and she is sorry about Wes but he says it's not enough and she misses him and wants to go back and kisses him but he stops and he just walks away and leaves her alone. Cut to the bar where Faith hits him and Faith wants to know about Angelus and he doesn't want to tell and Wes forces him and he then says he went into the back and they go into some place where they find people and vamps drugged. Cu to Connor infront of the mirror and he's trying to do a vamp face and Cordy knows what happened and it was because of the anti-demon spell and she says she's part demon but he says it's not the same and he doesn't even know what he is. She continues saying that he's special and that he's gonna be the best father and she tells him to tell her what's going on.





Cut to Faith and Wes with a stoned girl and Faith grabs her and asks her something and Faith quits but then Wes grabs a knife and puts it in her arm and asks her everything and she then says she did saw him and she says she doesn't know and she tells that he was talking to someone else and it was about a soul and he lets her go and Faith says that he lost it. Faith goes out and he says that he lost it but he says she needed it and then he says that he remembers what she did to him and she says she wouldn't do that but he says that she didn't change and that she is sick and that nobody trust her and he makes her mad and attacks him and he says it wasn't so hard and he says that it's what she needs to beat Angelus and she has to take it all the way but she doesn't want to risk killing Angelus.





Cut to Lorne waking up but he says that he at least could rest. and he says he knows where Angelus is and there goes Faith and Wes go over it and they find him and Wes tries to shoot him but can't and Angelus throws him off a balcony and Angelus has the gun and shoots at her and she falls off the stairs and she says she doesn't want to die but he says she is gonna but not with the gun and they continue to fight but he's much stronger. But she tries to defeat him anyway but he wins and he says she's just like him but she says she isn't and then he says she will be and he bites her.





Black Out


----------


Best episode quotes:





Angelus: Where are you?


Demon: Wherever you want me to be, buddy.


Cordevila: I'm where it's warm and soft.


Angelus: Hide and seek, huh? OK, I'll play.


Cordevila: Playtime's over. You've been a bad boy. Killed my favorite pet.


Angelus: Thought that might get your attention.


Cordevila: Initiative. I like that, but you needn't have bothered. I've had my eyes on you for some time.


Drugged Girl: Hey, baby, how 'bout a kiss?


Angelus: You like to watch, huh?


Cordevila: One of the many things we have in common.


Angelus: Oh, I don't know about that. I'm more of a hands-on kind of a guy. You, scram. OK, come on. You got a pair, or the wind you're blowing up my tailpipe is all you can muster? Hey, here's a kooky idea. Now that I've killed your little pet rock, how 'bout a little face-to-face, huh? Assuming that you've got one.


Cordevila: Don't worry. We'll meet when you're ready.


Angelus: Come on. Why the stalling? You whipped up a rain of fire, blotted out the sun, earthquakes...all to maneuver the Brady Bunch into releasing Angel's inner me. Don't you wanna kick the tires?


Cordevila: So beautifully vain, but the whirlwind doesn't always revolve around you. Destruction sometimes is its own reward.


Angelus: Hey, man, you're preaching to the guy who ate the choir. Wait, it was you, wasn't it? You pulled just the wrong strings to make them think it was their idea. Got 'em to yank that white, fluffy soul, and stuff it in a jar, and then gone, baby, gone.


Cordevila: Couldn't risk them putting it back in you. I have wonderful plans for you, my sweet boy.


Angelus: Um, yeah, but the thing is, as far as plans go, I make my own. So, you know, thanks for stopping by my head.


Cordevila: You would dare to defy me?


Angelus: Defy who? A big scary voice? Whoa! Hey, I got one of those, too. You wanna hear it? You can kiss my vampire ass! That do anything for ya?





Angelus: Hello! Hey, I got places to go, friends to kill- well, not actually my friends, but you get the idea. You got any more bluster you want to blow up there? That's what I thought.


Drugged Vamp: Dude, whatever you're on...I'll give you the girl for a gram.








Fred: If I were a Runic transcription guide, I would be... shelved wrong.


Angelus: Talking to yourself, Fred? A lot of that going around.


Fred: You can't hurt me. We did a no-demon-violence thingy.


Angelus: Oh, the sanctuary spell. Shucks. Oh, wait a minute. I think I- Oh, yeah, kinda thought you pesky P.I.'s would be humming that old tune, so I picked up a little something'-something'... let's me be as demony as I wanna be.


Fred: I don't believe you.


Angelus: How 'bout now?


Fred: What do you want?


Angelus: Maybe I just miss you. Well, since you brought it up, let's talk Beastmaster. Whaddaya got?


Fred: Nothing.


Angelus: Come on, Fred. All this raw material. Brainiac like you. You must have a theory.


Fred: If I did, you're the last person I'd tell.


Angelus: Well, all right then. I guess I'll figure it out myself, huh? Let's see. I'll take these. And this. Thanks for nothing.


Fred: I do know one thing. You're out of your league. What you're up against- he'll make you its bitch just like the Beast.





Faith: Start with a perimeter sweep. I'll take point. Stay frosty. If he's still in the area-


Wesley: You'll let him escape again?


Faith: This coming from the boy hostage?


Wesley: Angelus was right. You should have gone for him.


Faith: He would have killed you.


Wesley: And how many will he have the chance to murder now because you let that make a difference? Angelus is an animal. The only way to defeat him is to be just as vicious as he is.





Angelus: These aren't helping. Half of this crap is written in some archaic proto-demon-cuneiform, and I don't want to be rude, but I think the other half they just doodled. Now, don't make me puncture the other one, Reg. I just want to get some intel on this Beastmaster fellow. I mean, this is an occult shop, right? Like, your job is to help me.


Shopkeeper: I...don't...know-


Angelus: Sure you do. Has a penchant for rains of fire, blotting out the sun, getting... inside.... your... head-


Cordevila: Angelus!


Angelus: Hello, volume!


Cordevila: I am not well pleased!


Angelus: I am not well deaf.


Cordevila: Do you think me blind, little man? That I don't see every move before you decide to make it? Dare to seek me out again, and your insolence will be punished ten-fold.


Angelus: Yeah, what're you gonna do, huh? Give me a migraine? You ethereal types with your big, swinging omniscience. When push comes to shove, though, you gotta send some overgrown slag-heap to do your dirty work. Ooh, that's real spooky. Oh, that's great! You made me lose my shopkeeper.


Cordevila: This isn't the way, my sweet. We should be friends, you and I.


Angelus: No, and I'll tell you why. One, because, you know, I'm evil, so- the friends thing- that's out. And two, if I did have any friends, they sure as hell wouldn't be living inside my head.


Cordevila: Like you're forced to live inside Angel's? Because you're the voice in there, aren't you? Just beneath the surface, buried under all that goodness, fully conscious, fully aware, but trapped. Unable to move or speak, powerless to act on your desires. So thirsty, so helpless...it must be agony.


Angelus: I'm getting real bored with this game.


Cordevila: Then how 'bout a round of show-and-tell? Soul, soul, who has your soul? Oh, right. Me.


Angelus: More smoke and mirrors?


Cordevila: Only a glamour, yes, but I assure you, my sweet, this very moment I hold the real thing in the palms of my very corporeal hands, and I will restore it if you don't behave. I'll put you back in your box, Angelus, and bury you so far inside Angel, you'll never claw your way out again.


Angelus: All right. What do you want me to do... master?





Fred: Do you really think he'll come back?


Gunn: Measure twice, cut once.


Fred: Yeah, 'cause this worked so well the first time.


Gunn: Not your fault.


Fred: I should have had him.


Gunn: Fred, you got out of it alive, so-


Fred: Because he let me. Why not? All the little mouse could do was squeak at him.


Gunn: Then next time Minnie'll take a chunk out of his cheese. Look, if you really think you did something wrong, don't do it again. That simple.


Fred: Is it?


Gunn: Sometimes.


Fred: Don't. All we ever do is turn away.


Gunn: Fred, I-


Fred: I know. Whatever Wes was feeling, whatever he thought might- I should have told him it was never gonna happen. You think I don't know that?


Gunn: That's not what I was gonna say.


Fred: But it's what you think, isn't it? I'm sorry.


Gunn: It's not about that anymore. You know that.


Fred: All I know...is I miss you. Can't we just go back before any of this. I just want to go back, Charles. I just wanna...


Gunn: I, uh... I should do a sweep.


Fred: Yeah.








Demon: Come on. I bruise easy.


Faith: Gee, I wonder what color you'll be when I'm done.


Demon: Ow!


Wesley: Let's not, shall we?


Vampire: It's cool, dude. No worries.


Demon: I don't remember anything. I was drunk. I thought she was 18.


Faith: I'm gonna work real hard on the not understanding that, lumpy.


Demon: Frances. Ow!


Vampire: Break his head open. See if there's any candy.


Demon: Hey, what do I look like, a piñata?


Faith: Ooh, let's find out.


Demon: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ease off the contusion. What do you want to know?


Wesley: Where's Angelus?


Demon: Who? Ow!


Faith: We've been breathing stale beer and blood half the night in piss holes like this.


Wesley: Guess where it led us.


Demon: Look, I'm telling ya, I don't know nothing. On my mother's tumor. And even if I did, I'd never yak to a couple of fleshbags that are about to get their internal organs sucked out of their-


Wesley: Strom demon. Face should grow back. Eventually.


Faith: Think yours will?


Demon: Oh, that Angelus. Yeah, in here all the time running his mouth. "Look at me, I'm so evil." Real jackass. Never liked him. I'm on your side.


Wesley: Where is he?


Demon: I don't know. I swear. He was in here earlier giving us the blah blah blah, and then he started mumbling to himself like a big pretty freak, and then...he slipped into the back.


Faith: Back where?





Cordevila: You know, most teenagers check for pimples.


Connor: I'm not- I wasn't-


Cordevila: You tried to take him, didn't you? You attacked Angelus inside the hotel and got spanked by the anti-demon spell?


Connor: I'm not a demon.


Cordevila: I am. At least partly. Kind of a pre-req for the visions gig.


Connor: You chose that. It's not the same.


Cordevila: Why not?


Connor: I mean, why- Why do I- Cordy, I don't even know what I am.


Cordevila: I do. You're a daddy. And daddies need to take responsibility, Connor. You need to face the fact that we're special. Just like our baby's gonna be.


Connor: I'm really gonna be a father.


Cordevila: The best, and the only thing you ever have to worry about is keeping us safe. So, why don't you go back downstairs and see what's going on. I'd feel a lot better if I knew everything that was happening.





Faith: Hey, I'm gonna get you out of here.


Wesley: Faith...


Faith: Can you walk?


Drugged Girl: No, but I can fly.


Faith: What did they do to her?


Wesley: She did it to herself. They shoot up, the vampires feed, use 'em like a filter. I've read the effects can be quite intoxicating...for both of them.


Drugged Girl: Hey, you're pretty. You wanna make out?


Faith: There was a vampire in here earlier. Tall, dark hair- Listen!


Drugged Girl: OK. God! What's your issue?


Faith: Tall, dark hair, talking to himself.


Drugged Girl: Let go.


Faith: Did you see him?


Drugged Girl: No, I didn't. Stop it, you're hurting me!


Faith: She doesn't know anything.


Wesley: Maybe not.


Faith: What are you doing, Wes?


Wesley: Shut up! The tracks on your arms- you've been here, what, two or three days straight? Answer me!


Drugged Girl: Yeah, God, stop! Yes four- four days.


Wesley: Then you must've seen the vampire we're looking for.


Drugged Girl: Angelus, I saw him. He, uh...


Wesley: Where is he?


Drugged Girl: I don't know. I don't know! Please stop!


Wesley: They said he was talking to himself. What was he saying?


Drugged Girl: I don't know. It wa-It was like he was talking to someone else. It was all rain of fire a-and pulling strings and a soul. That's all I heard. Please stop. It hurts.


Faith: Have you totally lost it?


Wesley: I avoided the main arteries. She'll live, if that's what you call this. Whatever's controlling the Beast- it's made contact with Angelus.


Faith: So, what? Torturing humans part of the new makeover?


Wesley: I did what I had to do because you couldn't.


Faith: I hit her.


Wesley: You think that's something new to her?


Faith: You crossed it back there, Wes. What you did back there-


Wesley: Oh, you have a problem with torture now? I seem to recall a time when you rather enjoyed it.


Faith: Yeah, well, it's not me anymore. You know that.


Wesley: Nice to have this along, just in case. I remember what you did to me, Faith. The broken glass, the shallow cuts so I would remain conscious.


Faith: You think I'd hurt you again?


Wesley: This the part where you tell me you've turned a new leaf, found God, inner peace? We both know that isn't true. You haven't changed. You can't.


Faith: Wes...


Wesley: Because you're sick. You've always been sick. It goes right down to the roots rotting your soul. That's why your friends turned on you in Sunnydale, why the Watchers' Council tried to kill you. No one trusts you, Faith. You're a rabid dog who should've been put down years ago! See, that wasn't so hard, was it? It's what you'll need to beat him.


Faith: No.


Wesley: You have to be willing to take it all the way, Faith.


Faith: I can't risk killing Angel. Not after what he's done for me. There's got to be another way.





Angelus: A little birdie in my head told me you'd be here. Ooh. Exciting. Gotta do better than that, Wes. Come on, I'll give you one more. Strike three. Uh-oh. Vampire with a gun. I can see why he likes this thing. Wow. You really have gone soft now, haven't you? Hey, you remember that time you tried to get Angel to kill you because you felt all weepy over being such a bad little girl. Huh? Do you still feel that way? Do you still wanna die?


Faith: No.


Angelus: What's that?


Faith: No.


Angelus: I can't hear you.


Faith: No!


Angelus: Too bad, because you're gonna. But not like this. Looks like we got a live one. For now. A little tired, sweetie? You wanna take a break? Now, this is disappointing. You never used to bleed so easy.


Faith: Screw you.


Angelus: Maybe after. I like my girls to lie still. Hey, buddy, how's it goin' in there? Good old Wes. Always count on him to tackle a bad situation and make it worse. I mean, hey, look how you turned out. But then again, I guess he really didn't have much to work with now.


Faith: Save the head trip, GQ. Wes told me you'd try to get under my skin. Gave me just what I needed to scratch you out. Angelus: Oh ho. Don't tell me. The rousing stiff upper lip speech. Rah rah. Good over evil. Do what must be done. Hang in there, kitten, it's almost Friday. Is that what the scraggly little ponce armed you with to fight the big, bad boogey man?


Faith: Yeah, and this.


Angelus: That hurt, baby. Kinda liked it. How 'bout you? There's my girl. I knew she was in there somewhere dying to come out and play again.


Faith: Shut up.


Angelus: I know how it feels-forced to be someone you're not. Hurts to the bone. You try to bury the pain, but you can't get the hole deep enough, can you? No matter how much you dig, it's still there. Broken shards stabbing every time you breathe, cutting you up inside. You know, there's only one way to make the pain stop. Hurt someone else. Come on, Faith, you're not even trying. Or is that why you really came back, huh? Not enough to punish yourself in prison? Is that it? Still looking for someone to help beat the bad out of you? You know what the funny part is, darling? I could beat you death, and it wouldn't make a difference. Nothing will ever change who you are, Faith. You're a murderer, an animal, and you enjoy it. Just like me.


Faith: No! You're wrong. I'm different now. I'm not like you.


Angelus: You will be





----------


Story: 10


Acting: 10


Writing: 10


Picture: 10


Gripping: 10


My Rank: 10


----------


Total: 10

I always forget what happens during this one. It opens with Faith undressing and getting in the shower, and then I pause, and then I rewind, and then I pause again ... for a moment .. and then frame advance through the ... //oh, my, yes//.





That is one of the coolest scenes on television.





This is the one where Angel is bragging about killing the Beast, his going up in a big burst of sunshine which doesn't kill Angelus, but ...





What is it with this show and the having of too much power that causes the bursting forth of explosions? Between The Beast (twice), Spike and Illyria you'd think they'd have gotten bored with that little trope.





But it //was// a great effect. And now Cordy's in Angelus' head. Which opens another parallel I can't quite get my head around. In "Provider," Cordy and Angel are talking about Connor:





Cordy: He wonders where his father's been.


Angel: Daddy's got mouths to feed.


Cordy: I've got a mouth too. Always have had one. Kinda known for it and we've fed it fine for years.





Then in the Orpheus den, Angelus is screaming at, well, Evil Cordy.





Angelus: What do you got, a big scary voice? I've got one of those, too, you wanna hear it? You can kiss my vampire ass!





I don't know why it was so important that I track that down just now.





But Angelus didn't kill the Beast to get the Beastmaster's attention. Angelus doesn't really ... //have// an agenda.





I did enjoy him calling the Beast the Beastmaster's "pet rock." And I liked his reference: "You're preachin' to the guy who ate the choir."





OK, when Jasmine said they may have done the right thing, raising Angelus to kill the Beast, was that the beginning of the terrible explanation for this season?





I enjoyed how they used Wesley's darkness to reignite the badass in Faith. "I avoided the main arteries. She'll live. If that's what you call this."





Faith: "Torturing humans part of the new makeover?"


Wes: "I did what I had to because you couldn't. You have a problem with a little torture now? I seem to recall a time when you rather enjoyed it. ... I remember what you did to me, Faith -- the broken glass, the shallow cuts so I would remain conscious."





He drives her to her darkest self and she's ... surprised to find how short the trip is.





Angelus didn't learn a damn thing from the W&H documents, and we were just reminded in "Habeas Corpses" that Angel has a photographic memory, so there was no reason for him to grab the documents. To quote her Shiny Thighédness, "Dud ex machina."





Or maybe not. If nothing else, that Desdemona's handkerchief of a fake charm tracked Faith and Wes to Angelus through Lorne knowing where it came from set up one of the coolest fights we've seen in this show.





"Half this crap is written in some proto-demon Cuneiform, and no offense, but I think the other half is just doodling."





This was perhaps Amy Acker's Booty Manifesto. Early in the episode, she said, "There's always a but. When this is all over can we have a big but moratorium?" Then later, when Gunn said "He comes dancing in here again trying to pull another Dark Shadows, he's gonna get a dart up his ass," and Fred responds, "His ass moves pretty fast."





Loved Connor in the mirror. I don't like him much in this season, but that was a wonderful little moment.





I did appreciate that they tried to normalize the Fr/unn in this eppy, and it's so sad that it's not meant to be.





The interrogation of the one-horned demon was a delight as always -- no one writes toadying like Mutant Enemy.





The main thing is that scaffolding fight between Faith and Angelus. Very cool, very wild and again, one of the better things on television (except for that one or two seconds that reminded me of Buster Keaton running around on a boat.)





JASMINE WATCH: "Angelus can't fight his true nature" is such a Jasmine line.





She had no idea why she needed Angelus, or Angel, but no problem.





Neither did the writers.





Jasmine did tip Angelus off as to where they were going to be, but again, if that's the big idea, why didn't she just kill them in their sleep?





Anyway, this for some reason stands out for me: Jasmine tells Connor, "We're special, just like our baby's gonna be."





You //are// special. Like some //Olympics// are special.





* images of Jasmine on the short bus *





* giggling *








P.S. -- This was the coolest cliffhanger of the season -- Angelus about to sire Faith. Very. very cool.





And then ...





... the rest of the season happened. :(